Recap: Penguins 4, Islanders 2

March 22, 2013|Reuters

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Recap: Penguins 4, Islanders 2

Penguins 4, Islanders 2: Brandon Sutter snapped a tie 1:46 into the third period and Tomas Vokoun turned aside 33 shots as visiting Pittsburgh skated to its 11th straight victory, matching the longest winning streak in the NHL this season.

Pascal Dupuis collected an empty-net goal and an assist while Chris Kunitz recorded his team-leading 19th tally. Joe Vitale netted his second goal in three contests and captain Sidney Crosby notched two assists for the Penguins, who have yielded just eight tallies in their last seven games.

Captain Mark Streit and Josh Bailey scored and defenseman Travis Hamonic notched his 50th career assist for the Islanders, who have dropped three consecutive home games and fell to an NHL-worst 5-11-2 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Blue-liner Matt Carkner also set up a goal for his first point and Evgeni Nabokov finished with 21 saves.

Kunitz forged a 2-2 tie with 14 seconds remaining in the second period, when his wrist shot from the slot caromed off Nabokov's pads and into the net. Sutter scored his fifth third-period goal and gave Pittsburgh its first lead by one-timing Matt Cooke's feed during a 2-on-1 rush.

The Islanders seized a 2-1 advantage with 2:42 remaining in the second period as Bailey cleaned up a loose puck when Hamonic's shot from the point didn't find its way through traffic.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh, which hasn't lost since a 4-1 setback to Carolina on Feb. 28, will vie for its 12th straight victory on Sunday when it hosts Keystone State-rival Philadelphia. The Penguins' winning streak matches that of Chicago, which captured 11 in a row from Feb. 15-March 6. ... Reigning Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin missed his seventh consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Penguins D Kris Letang sat out for the second straight contest with a lower-body injury. ... New York recorded the first 12 shots before James Neal's bid from the high slot with 7:07 remaining in the first period. Pittsburgh mustered just three shots during the session.